10 signs you’re a mum on holiday

You go up and down the escalators at Heathrow for fun, as someone in the family seems to think this is the best way to start the holiday
You choose to have your ice cream in a cone instead of a cup to enable you to push the buggy at the same time as you’re eating
You realise the family–including you–can give up on wearing white after three days of children’s restaurant menus with spaghetti bolognese and chocolate ice cream
You suddenly find yourself half-way out in the sea wearing your newest full-length resort wear while attempting to persuade your toddler to wait a few seconds to allow you to put the beach bag down before jumping in the water
You spend your time convincing your shivering toddler who’s been way too long in the sea that sitting in the sand with water touching the toes is indeed very similar to going swimming
You return from the beach with a sun burnt back for the first time in years while your little one has a thick, protective layer of sun cream on from the last three hourly sun cream session
You carry a spade around even when you’re not going to the beach, as there’s no point arguing with a sand castle-obsessed family member refusing to go anywhere without proper building equipment
Your face is even whiter than when you arrived on holiday, but you now have the added bonus of being practically impervious to water after the long-lasting effect of the water-proof paraben-free layer of SPF 50+ baby sun cream you put on after worrying about getting sun burnt the other day
You hide behind a kitchen island to eat a much-deserved ice cream at the end of the day, worrying that there’s still a chance someone could come to finish it for you
On the way home, you do your emails sitting on a tower of soft play shapes in the airport’s kids’ space after giving up on convincing a certain family member that the airport lounge would really be a much better choice